How to Grow Wheat in Barrels

Wait until frost ends in the spring and locate barrels for the wheat planter. You can use any type of wooden or plastic barrels as long as they were only used to store food. If you intend to harvest or eat the wheat, never use a barrel that previously contained chemicals or petroleum-based items

Turn the barrels upside down and drill five to six holes in the bottom by using a drill and a 1/2-inch drill bit. These holes allow extra water to drain out.

Set the barrels in an outdoor location that is in full sunlight with no overhanging tree limbs. If you place them on a hard surface, such as concrete, set the barrels on top of bricks to keep the bottoms off of the surface and allow adequate water drainage.

Fill the barrels with a mixture of two parts of potting soil and one part of manure. Mix the materials by using a hand trowel until they are well combined.

Sprinkle wheat seeds over the soil, spreading them as evenly as possible, but if they overlap, it's fine.

Mix the top layer of the soil lightly with the trowel to cover the wheat seeds by 1 1/2 inches of soil. Press the soil down gently with your hands to firm it and water it to a depth of about 2 inches. Continue watering the soil as needed to maintain a damp surface until the wheat seed germinates in about five days.

Water the soil only once per month after initial germination. If rainfall occurs during the month, do not add any supplemental water to the wheat barrels.

Apply 10-10-10 fertilizer to each barrel once the wheat stalks reach about 3 to 4 inches high. Use the amount indicated on the fertilizer bottle. Repeat the application once more midway through the growing season sometime in the summer.